Royals News: Bobby Witt Jr. Heart and Hustle, spring training game times revealed

The Kansas Royals have been quite busy this past week as their 2026 roster starts to take shape, from Rule 5 protection decisions to free agent depth signings.

But as fans wait to see what's next for the Royals, there's some other headlines that might've flown under the radar this week.

Royals News: Bobby Witt Jr. takes home 2025 MLBPAA Heart and Hustle Award

Witt Jr.'s award filled offseason continued on Thursday after the Royals franchise cornerstone found himself taking home some familiar hardware.

For the second consecutive season, Witt and his electrifying game saw him named the MLBPAA's Heart and Hustle Award winner.

By definition, the Heart and Hustle Award honor is determined by player and alumni voting and "is presented annually to an active player who demonstrates a passion for the game of baseball and best embodies the values, spirit and traditions of the game."

In an appearance on MLB Network Hot Stove, Witt discussed with Matt Vasgersian and Harold Reynolds what this award means to him.

"It’s truly an honor," Witt said. "It’s one of my favorite honors to be able to receive just because the players vote on it."

"I just always want to play the game as hard as I can," he said. "It was instilled in me by my dad, so I’m just truly honored and blessed."

Royals News: KC releases their official home spring training schedule for 2026

After the dust settles on the offseason, the Royals and their hopefully upgraded roster will head to Surprise, Arizona for spring training.

Just what that month of gameplay will look like has become clearer too after their official game times at Surprise Stadium were announced on Wednesday.

Kansas City shares Surprise Stadium with the Texas Rangers and will alternate every other day in hosting games.

The Royals' first home game will take place on Feb. 21 for a Saturday afternoon matchup against the San Diego Padres.

A majority of their home games will take place in the afternoon at 1:05 p.m. MT with the exception of their games on March 13 against the Diamondbacks and March 17 against the Dodgers which both start at 6:05 p.m. and their final home game against the Rockies starts at 12:05 p.m. MT.

Mixed in among their slate of games is a World Baseball Classic tune-up game against Team Cuba which will get underway at the usual 1:05 p.m. MT start.